The secret to turkey so good you'd kill for it

Ok, maybe that's too strong. Still, hear me out. The secret to a good turkey is the stuffing. Right? Of course.

I have stumbed upon the world's greatest stuffing recipe, courtesy of some expeditious Googling, a little improvisation and some sage advice my Roman butcher gave me this morning. Trust me, your family and friends will be talking about your turkey clear through Christmas if you follow this recipe.

Here goes:
(erm, I have to give you the metric version. Ask the younger generation what this would equal in cups, saucers and spoons.)

For a 10 lb bird
1 loaf of old, stale bread. A good loaf. Not Wonder.
A good clump of fresh parsley.
Celery
Onions
Carrots
150 grams of sliced pancetta
600 grams of chestnuts
1/2 kilo of "polpa di maglie" or minced pork
4-5 eggs
a glug of milk
12 teaspoons of Cognac (yes, this is the secret ingredient!). For those of you wondering, yes, Armagnac works just as well.

1. Boil water. Throw in chestnuts for 30 mins. Afterwards, deshell and throw contents into a bowl. Chuck in the blender. Blend.
2. Cut your bread into cubes. Crack open the eggs and add the milk. Mix together to get a mushy mash of old yellow bread. Add diced parsley. Add the diced onions. Add the diced celery. Add the diced carrots. Mix more.
3. Throw the pancetta into a blender and whip up into a mash.
4. In a big bowl, add your mushy bread, your pancetta mash, the chesnut mash and the minced pork. Mix well.
5. Add your cognac.
6. Let sit for half-hour.
7. Turn your oven on.

Now, prepare your bird. (it really should be sourced from your local butcher and not one of those plastic, tasteless, Butterball creations, but even if it is, we got you covered.)
1. Rub the outside of your turkey and in the cavity with a clove of garlic.
2. Sprinkle salt on same.
3. If you are feeling decadent, throw a tablespoon of the Cognac into the cavity as well.

After the half hour lapses, fill your bird with the stuffing.
Place in the oven. After 20 mins. Drizzle a glass of white wine on the bird. Repeat after an hour. Keep covered for duration of cooking.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Buon Ringraziamento!

Its a TARPEY World

So I got some photos back from the wedding. although we still use a 35mm camera with film, I a little tech savvy and thought this shot was worthy of a post. Notice how worried Matt looks about the pending birth of his SON-I got that one right. Any way, on a different note, some news: Guess who got fired, that's right me. Jim any jobs at resortclosing.com ??
The reasons are not important, but know that I had been unhappy there for quite some time, and I guess since I hadn't jumped God pushed me. Doors and windows is how we are looking at it. Maybe its time to get that Masters Degree and teaching certification, not an original idea, but I can work on that savage tan-melanoma-with the summers off. OK so I will post the rest of the photos on that other site Bern set up take a look for it soon.

PEACE
JP

I guess since I am going on the dole I should have voted for Obama, oh well....

little boys wear BLUE

i have posted the following at the request of matt, to assure family of the sex of our baby- it is indeed a boy. and oh how BOY he is! -jessica




Liam Foster Tarpey


little boys wear blue



Liam's first Halloween pumpkin



Mr. McDrooly



Liam and Dad (Matt)

I Feel Like Dorian...

... I too am married to lawyer, but that's not all. Imagine my shock when I opened my mailbox today and found an envelope from cousin Bob Pattwell. Inside was a Birthday Card expressing his best wishes to me on the 44th anniversary of my birth. While I was deeply moved by Bob's gesture, I felt a little like Dorian as I got no other cards or wishes from my extended family. Dorian so we have that in common.


Can someone who is Blog savvy (either Bern or Sam Patwell seem to be candidates) set up some calendar that we can all add events to. I am so GUILTY of forgetting birthdays, anniversaries and the like that I know I could use the help. So get cracking you techno savvy cousins...

Oh and BTW who voted for McCain, besides me apparently not many of you.

WITH GREAT LOVE and AFFECTION

JP